Runescape: A Desert Flower
by Oryxace
Summary: 200 years in a cave cannot kill the immortal Oryxace, grappling with his mistakes, and the genocide of Corbinith, he finds himself acting the part of a 'Kidemonas' once again, only this time in defense of the princess of Al-Kharid.
1. Part 1

Part: 1

My name is Oryxace, 200 years ago I committed a genocide, and erased an entire country from the face of Gielinor. Afterward I tried to atone for my actions, but only made things worse, my clan the Reapers, fought several wars that devastated Gielinor. The final clan I lead was called the Archers, and many saw us as an evil force controlling Gielinor, thus I had to destroy it all.

However this is not a story about my many mistakes, or the wars I've started, fought in, or ended, this is a story about my second lover. I gained immortality 200 years ago, I will outlive all those I love, but the heart cannot be stopped in such matters. Thus I continue to love, even though I am doomed to pain, perhaps that's why I can still call myself human.

I sat in a cave in the Al Kharidian desert, my grey beard hung down to my belt, my armour was horribly rusted, my eyes had not closed in many a day. The light was harsh, and I was out of alcohol, and food, my stomach cried out in pain, my muscles refused to move, for all intents and purposes I was dead. But I continued to live, in horrendous agony, both physically, and mentally, I heard a noise by the entrance of the cave.

Someone, or something entered the cave, I heard footsteps, then at the edges of my vision, I saw a figure.

"This is no way for a man to die." The figure spoke, in the tongue of Al Kharid.

"Then it is good that I am not dead." I respond, using the eye of Saradomin to translate, my voice coming across raspy, dry, and old.

The man draws his scimitar, and backs away, pointing it in my direction, he seemed wary, but not scared, or fearful.

"What? You've never seen a man wallow in his own self loathing before?" I say, somehow managing to look up at him, and blink, I immediately regret blinking, my eyes sting from the sudden moisture, tears fall down my boney cheeks, adding to the effect.

"I heard a legend of a wise man living in a cave deep in the desert, I came to ask–"

"I am not a wise man, I am a fool, a fool for ever believing I could do any good in this world, I came to this cave so I wouldn't be disturbed." I say, managing to raise my hand, attempting to wave him off.

"But you do not understand, I fear for my daughter's life, I don't know where else to turn to." The man says, gesturing to the cave entrance.

I look at the direction he's gesturing, in the entrance way to the cave I see a women, in her 20s, standing with a hood up against the wind. Her hair is silky black, her skin tone olive, her eyes by contrast are deep ocean blue, she does not appear to be 100% Al Kharidian by birth. Regardless she is beautiful, _she reminds me of Elora_, I think, looking at the ceiling of the cave as more tears roll down my face.

"You see, I am the lord of this desert, my name is Aadil, my wife was from the Asgarnian royal family, because of this, my child is caught between two lands, Asgarnia and Al Kharid. Many in under my rule believe she should go to Asgarnia, and relinquish her birthright to the throne of Al kharid, not only because she is a women, but also because she is half Asgarnian. There have been threats, I fear that she may not be safe for much longer, I've doubled the guards of the palace, but somehow last night, someone managed to get into her room, he had a knife, but he did harm her, he was a warning of what could happen. Please, you must help us, explain to my people the error of their ways, tell them that this is madness!" The man called Aadil, pleaded, dropping to his knees and bowing his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

"The great illusion of this world is that people can be shown the error of their ways, this is not the case, I cannot show them the error of their ways, you cannot show them the error of their ways, they must be left to find them, themselves. Have you considered a bodyguard?" I reply to the man before me.

"I have, I appointed a bodyguard, but not long after his appointment, he was found dead in a well."

"Well then what do you think I can do about it?" I ask harshly.

"PLEASE! I have no one else to turn to, you are my last hope!" The man grovels in front of me, his body shaking, tears falling from his eyes.

Suddenly there was a scream from the entrance of the cave, a group of bandits was trying to make off with the man's daughter.

"A'ATA!" The man yells, trying in vain to stand and fight the bandits.

Watching his reaction, I decide to help him, I unleash the power of Saradomin, a beam of energy impales one of the bandits, he drops the ground. Using the eye of Saradomin I force my body to be nourished, and my muscles to be strong, I rise, my body had sat for so long I was half immersed in the stone and dirt. I use a spot teleport to get to the other side of the cave, but not in time, the bandits are already making off, with A'ata. I watch them try to get away on a horse, I use the eye of Saradomin to propel myself forward, sword at the ready, I fly forward, the bandits look in shock as I'm suddenly in front of them, sword ready to plunge into them. I do just that, my Rune longsword, though rust covered, easily goes through the lead bandit's cloth armour, there's a sound as the air leaves his body, I reverse the force of my motion, and my sword is pulled from his body.

I send a beam of energy from my eye into the other remaining bandit, then I use my power to calm the horses, they had been riding. I turn them around, and ride them back to the cave, Aadil is standing at the entrance, sobbing uncontrollably. A'ata dismounts and goes to Aadil, I dismount and watch as they embrace, _maybe I should help these people_, I think, just at that moment I make the mistake of deactivating the eye of Saradomin. I collapse to the ground, being immortal I was in no danger of dying, however, my physical form had been greatly diminished by my two century long absence from action. The world fades to black as Aadil, and A'ata stand over me, trying to help me, next thing I know, I'm in a dream world, everything before me liquid and viscous.

When I open my eyes, I'm in a field on the outskirts of Falador, back at the old house I had lived in with Elora. As I stare, I see her, her pale skin, flowing black hair, and ocean blue eyes, as beautiful as they had been 200 years earlier. Then I see my son, Sauren, running toward me, suddenly the field burns, Elora's image erupts into flames, Sauren collapses to bones, the house I could see in my peripheral vision turns to dust. I scream out, but my voice isn't present, the fire consumes everything in my vision, until it surrounds me, not burning me, but burning everything I loved. Then my right eye explodes, the pain makes me drop to my knees, blood pours from the wound, I wish I could just plunge into the fire and end but the fire moves with me.

"E… Elora!" I say as I collapse to the ground, the pain too much to bare.

"ELORA!" I scream as I wake up, I instinctively put my hands to my right eye.

It takes a moment to realize I'm not in pain, and my right eye is still there, I feel tears rolling down the sides of my face. A man rushed into the room, he wore a white cloak, and had an aged face,

"Welcome back to the world of the waking." He says in the common tongue of Misthalin.

"Where, am I?" I say, managing to sit up a little.

"You are in the palace, of Aadil Al'am, lord of Al Kharid." The man replies, checking my pulse.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Devaris Hex, old friend, I'm not surprised you didn't recognize me."

"D… Doom?" I say hesitantly trying to figure who it could possibly be.

"Good, 200 years in a cave in the desert hasn't completely destroyed your brain." Doom says, sitting down in a chair next to my bed.

"What in hells name are you doing here?" I ask, surprised.

"I was trying to get close to the desert flower, I was her bodyguard, but then someone stuck a knife in my back, so I decided to alter my appearance and become a physician." Doom replies, leaning back in his chair.

"Typical, you don't think with your head, you think with your–"

"Don't even go there."

"Anyway, can you give me some information on the situation here?" I ask laying back down.

"Not really, haven't really been paying attention, all I know is that some religious leader was making a big fuss a few days ago, was yelling in front of the palace 'a women cannot lead our empire!'. He was saying" Doom replies.

"Al Kharid hasn't been an empire for at least 200 years, why are they calling it an empire now?"

"I have no idea, all I know is that I'm close to convincing Lord Aadil to let me give his daughter a mmmmm… checkup…"

"You're absolutely disgusting." I say, not even dignifying him with a glance.

"Hey I just wanted to be alone in a room with her."

"Absolutely disgusting." I repeat.

"Hey give me a break, not all of us know how to charm the ladies. Anyway, now that you're here things are bound to get better, you never could leave a country in peril."

"My fatal flaw."

"Listen, I'll try to get some more information for you, but listen, you've been out of commission for 200 years, you need to give your body a chance to recover."

"If I let my body recover naturally, it'd be months by the time I'd be of any use, I'm going to need to use the eye of Saradomin to force myself into a position to fight."

"Then leave the eye active until it's all done, you slept for 2 days from the last time you used it, after all this is done, I can get you out of Al Kharid, or else they might bury you thinking you're dead." Doom says standing to leave.

"You'll probably have to do that, this could take a while." I answer, activating my eye.

"Just don't push yourself too much, basically use it to make yourself healthy, but don't use it in combat, or anything else."

"What are you now a physician?" I say sarcastically.

"I was considering it as a… 57th career." He replies, in the same manner.

"Get your filthy ass out of here." I say, glad to see my good friend still had a sense of humour.

Not long after he left, lord Aadil came to express his never ending gratitude, and the like,

"Really you don't have to, I'm fine with just a place to stay."

"nonsense, nonsense, I'll have your armour and weapons polished and trimmed with gold, we'll have a feast–"

"Don't you dare touch the sword!" I yell.

"All your equipment was just brought down to the amoury to be worked on."

"Thank you."

I use the power of the eye of Saradomin to locate the armoury and teleport there, the armourer jumped when I appeared.

"Where's the sword?" I half scream.

"R-right here." He says handing me my sword, it's been polished, but luckily not re-forged in any way.

"Are you sure you don't want to have it worked on, it looks positively awful." The armourer says staring at it.

"It has character, I've been using it for 200 years, it was given to me by a friend."

"I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind if I made it if you had it worked… a little." The blacksmith says reaching for it.

"It has character, every scratch and chip tells a story, all it needs is a polish and it will be fine." I say pulling away from him, "What's the state of my armour?"

"Well, Rune doesn't rust, but it attracts particles of metals that do, over time it loses it shine, and 'rusts', but it doesn't lose its integrity, the leather straps in  
the armour, however, are rotting, and will need to be replaced."

"Very well, I will need my armour to help Aadil, and I will need a scabbard for my sword.

"Y-yes, right away sir." The armourer says, looking over the Rune armour I'd been wearing when I was brought here, "I will need your sword if I am to fit it to a scabbard."

"In that case, I'll craft my own scabbard." I say walking out of the armoury.

Later that night I was looking at the sky, in the desert the stars shone brighter than in Asgarnia or Misthalin. I raised my sword, the reflection of the moon against its newly polished surface was beautiful, the stars made it look like something magical. Doom climbed up to the roof I was sitting, he had dispelled the illusion that made him look old, and was wearing a simple white robe, he had a rune sword strapped to his belt.

"Enjoying the stars?" he asks, sitting next to me.

"I was, it has been many years since I've seen them, they looked the same as they did 200 years ago." I reply, continuing to look up at them.

"They may not have changed, but what exists under them has shifted drastically."

"You've been watching over it all haven't you?" I ask, sheathing my sword in its newly crafted scabbard.

"Unfortunately." He answers, raising his right arm, "I'm stuck with immortality, you can end it whenever you want."

"What do you mean?" I ask perplexed.

"Come on, don't tell me you haven't figured it out?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I ask sitting up.

"If you remove your eye, you will lose immortality, and continue to age, until you die naturally."

"Now you tell me, wish you'd told me that 200 years ago." I say angrily.

"And what would you have done? Killed yourself, you were unstable mentally back then, you needed time to come to terms with your own immortality." Doom  
answers.

"How long did it take you to come to terms with yours?" I ask him.

"300 years, it took 300 years for me to come to terms not only with the destruction of the Reapers, but also with what Rune Scar did to me." He answers, raising his right arm.

"He was trying to atone for what he did, you know that." I reply to him.

"Doesn't change what happened, he took my arm, then gave me the arm of a god he had recently slain." Doom says, "You had, and still do have, a choice."

"So what's to stop me from ending it all right now?"

"The desert flower of Al-Kharid." Doom responds.

"A'ata Al'am." I whisper almost to myself.

"You see Elora in her don't you?" Doom says inquisitively.

"She is like an eastern version of her."

"If you cut your hair and shaved, she just might fall for you." Doom says sarcastically.

I quickly unsheathe my sword and swing it toward his throat, he blocks it with his own Rune sword, a foot away from his body with no effort.

"I've been training the last 200 years, I'm a lot stronger than I was all those years ago."

"You could block back then as well." I say, not even glancing at him.

"Heh, I always was stronger than you." He replies.

"In your dreams."

"So you thought she looked like me?" Elora says, looking at me with a sly smile.

"Yes, the likeness was astounding, I almost thought you had reincarnated right there in Al-Kharid."

"And you entered into a relationship with her?" She says, getting an angry look on her face.

"For all intents and purpose, you had never met me, I swore to never love again after the genocide in Corbinith, I felt that I did not deserve it, but the heart  
cannot be controlled so easily, and thus I was doomed to love again."

"You've become even more of a romantic in the last 786 years." Elora says, her look softening a little.

"My words have deeper meaning now, I haven't become more of a romantic, maybe even less than I was 800 years ago." I reply.

"I can't believe that." Elora says putting her hand over my mine on the table, "I want to hear the rest of this story."

"Alright, where was I?"

My armour sparkled in the harsh sunlight, its new gold trim glinted brilliantly, it was worth far more than it had been, if I ever chose to sell it. I was walking around the capital city of Al-Kharid, I had never been to Al-Kharid before, I had never seen the people, or the culture. My armour attracted some rather seedy individuals to my wake, though they backed off when I broke the arm of a pickpocket trying to take some of my gold.

I had elected to travel the city without an escort, Aadil wasn't happy about it, but I reminded him that I wasn't defenseless. The city was interesting, certainly different than Falador, or Varrock, the buildings were whitewashed, vendors lined the streets, and interesting smells of various meat cooking filled the air. A hand grabbed my cloak, I looked around to see A'ata, she had a hood drawn close as to obscure her face.

"Did you come to this land from Asgarnia?" She asks, her eyes filled with curiousity.

"No, I come from Misthalin, but my wife was Asgarnian, and so was my son…" I trail off.

"What is it like in Asgarnia?" She asks.

"Perhaps we should talk about this somewhere, more private, the eyes here are not all good."

We quickly find a secluded café off the beaten, the food and drink is horrible, but at least its away from the prying eyes of the street.

"Asgarnia, is a beautiful country, sharing a border with Misthalin, Kandarin, Karamja, and what was Corbinith. It's fields are green with grass, and the water sparkles, its cities are magnificent, they rise from behind white marble walls, and inspire hope in travelers. I lived in Asgarnia for many years with my family, and I have not yet seen a country more beautiful, its people are trusting and open, always willing to take in a weary traveler." I say, remembering my time in Asgarnia.

"It sounds much better than Al-Kharid, the people here are paranoid, untrusting, they see women, and especially me as nothing more than a tool for pro-creation." A'ata says, looking solemnly at her cup of coffee.

"It only takes one person to change the perception of an entire society, be that one person." I say trying to cheer her up.

"The people here will never change, it would be better it I just went to Asgarnia, at least there I would be welcome."

"What would happen to the throne?" I ask her.

"It would go to my uncle Altair."

"Do you think he would make a good ruler?"

"Maybe, but he's harsh, he wants to make Al-Kharid an empire again."

"And what would be wrong with that?" I ask, trying to take another drink of my coffee, and failing.

"He believes that all land within 200km is the birthright of the Al-Kharidian emperor, he's spoken many times about how he'd make Al-Kharid a city to rival the ancient cities of the legendary Corbinith."

"200 years and Corbinith is already a legend?" I say, grinning at the funny twist of fate.

"What do you mean, Corbinith is an ancient myth, if it ever existed it existed thousands of years ago." A'ata says, getting a confused look on her face.

"A'ata, do you want to know why I chose to help you, and your country?" I say, setting down the awful coffee.

"You did it because it was the right thing to do… right?" She says, hesitantly.

"I did it because you remind me of my long dead wife." I say, leaning back, and stroking my beard.

"I-I remind you of your wife?" She says, blushing slightly

"Long dead wife, A'ata would like to have a lesson on history?" I ask her, getting a serious expression on my face.

"Very well, proceed." She says, regaining her composure.

"About 236 years ago, a war was fought between the nations of Asgarnia and Corbinith, it was a bloody conflict, at first it raged for 2 years. Asgarnia almost won it then, but they halted just before entering Corbinith's original territory, and refused to deal a finishing blow. They signed a peace treaty with Corbinith, but Corbinith took advantage of Asgarnia's trusting nature, and built a corrupt demon army. They attacked again after about a year, only this time they easily took over Asgarnia, and began an assault on Misthalin not long after, over the next year and a half a bloody war was fought the likes of which you will probably never see." I say pausing for a moment, "The war was ended, when the power of Saradomin was unleashed in this world, practically erasing Corbinith from history."

"You speak as though you were there, how can you speak about it with so much certainty?" A'ata asks.

"It's because I was there, I watched it all happen, and I used this eye" I point to my right eye bearing the symbol of Saradomin, "To destroy Corbinith for killing my wife."

"If you had the power to destroy a nation why didn't you revive your wife?"

"The issue is more complex than that, you see to gain this power I made a deal with Saradomin, he gave me power, and revived my dear Elora, but in exchange it would be as though I never existed, he basically erased me from existence in that time, over the next decade I made a name for myself with the Reapers, then the Archers the decade after that, and the decade after that I tried to revive the Reapers, and when that failed, I looked at all the damage I had caused, and decided to leave it all. I travelled to that cave you found me in, and I sat down with my alcohol, I sat there for 200 years, unable to die because of this damn eye." I say, not realizing tears are rolling my face.

"You said the name of your wife was Elora?" A'ata asks me.

Wiping tears form my eyes I answer, "Yes, her name was Elora."

"My mother was named Elora, she was named after a famous Asgarnian political activist for women's rights." A'ata says her eyes lighting up.

"That sounds like Elora, she hated 'conservative old men'."

"So your wife was a famous political activist that still has influence 200 years later?!" A'ata says, practically shaking with energy.

"I suppose–"

"That's so cool, father said you were a wise man, but this is, this is more than I could've guessed!" A'ata says standing.

"Elora never knew me, to her, and everyone else back then, I was nothing more than a void spot in their memories." I says, trying to calm her down.

"What did you look like back then, I bet you looked like–"

"Do you want to see?" I ask her.

"Can I?" She says, her eyes filling with wonder.

"You can, but later tonight, for now let's get back to the palace."

When we get back to the palace, I shave my beard, the hair that had adorned my face for so long felt weird falling to the ground. When my beard was gone, I looked at my face, minus the stubble I was about to shave, my face looked noticeably aged. I cut my hair next, once it was all done, I looked in the mirror again, a face stared back at me that I almost didn't recognize.

"A'ata…" I say, the wind blowing gently through her window, the moon was full tonight.

A'ata began to stir, I said her name again, her eyes began to flutter, then she opened them and sat up, she looked at me with eyes filled with wonder.

"Kidemonas…" She says, "It has been so long…"

I use the power of the eye of Saradomin to put her back to sleep, then quickly exit through the window, I land on a nearby rooftop. _I thought I would never be called by that name ever again_, I think to myself, a tear rolling down my cheek, _I am not a Kidemonas anymore_. I quickly make way back to my room, remembering a time when I actually did do good by the people.


	2. Part 2

Part 2:

"So let me get this straight, she called you a _'Kidemonas'_?" Elora asks, recognizing the word.  
"Yes, after that I did not want to let her down, I worked twice as hard to protect her."

The sun beat down on the desert, mirages rose and fell as we travelled over it, Aadil Al'am had invited me to come and watch a gladiatorial duel in the arena. I figured it would be rude to not accept his invitation, the arena was a 3 hour walk from Al-Kharid, I elected to make the journey on foot. I never realized how much the sun beat down in the desert, my white cloak helped deflect some of it, but even just 10 minutes out of the city I was soaked in sweat.

"Would you like a ride?" Doom said, pulling me from the sand.  
"W…wa…water…" I say weakly.  
Doom slaps me, "I'll give you a ride, but this water is mine."  
"Deal." I say, climbing onto his horse, the horse immediately buckled slight under the weight of my armour.  
"Take off you armour, you'll find it easier to move around." Doom says, gesturing for me to get off the horse.  
"But I have nowhere to store it." I reply.  
"Then make a pocket dimension, it should be easy for you." He says, making a few quick gestures with his hand and opening a portal, then reaching in and producing a white robe, and various other things that would be useful in the desert.

I make the same gestures, a portal opens up in front of me, startled I take a step back.

"See, now wasn't that easy?" Doom says handing me the desert outfit.  
"Thanks, I honestly never thought of that." I say, beginning to undress to change into the desert robe.  
"No problem, friends stick together." He says, turning away as I change into the desert outfit.  
"How do I look?" I say after I finish changing.  
"Like a proper Al-Kharidian." He says mounting his horse, I climb on behind him, and we get to the arena fairly quick.

When we arrive, the crowd is already cheering, men wearing equipment from all across Gielinor stand, all of them looking ready to fight.

"Seems like this arena is pretty well known." I say, dismounting the horse and stretching.  
"Makes you want to register and fight doesn't it?" Doom says, tying the horse to a post.  
"Not even in the slightest." I say, remembering an incident in a wilderness gladiatorial tournament.  
"You should try it, you can't be killed so you've got nothing to worry about!" Doom says, putting one hand on my should, and gesturing to the registration booth with the other.  
"Why don't you go register to fight?" I counter.  
"It wouldn't be a fair fight." Doom says, "I'll get you a case of Karamjan rum if you fight today."

I freeze, I hadn't had a bottle of Karamjan rum in ages, and being a recovering alcoholic, I needed some badly.

"I'll do it." I answer, moving towards the registration table.

After the registration is done, they put in the arena immediately, I enter to see several bodies on the ground and a massive man walking around with a set of vicious looking swords. I step over the lifeless body of a spearman, the man in the center of the arena is wearing a helmet shaped like a skull, a wolf belt draped over his shoulders, his gauntlets made of black iron. He takes a step forward, then roars at me, he stamps the ground a few times for effect, then assumes a fighting stance.

"You're big." I say while putting on my helmet, "But I've fought worse."

I lunge at him, sword drawn, shield at the ready, surprised by my sudden burst of movement, my opponent barely managed to block. He counters my attack, I easily block his strike with my shield, sparks fly as the metal connects, he follows up with a series of quick strikes, all of which bounce harmlessly off my shield. I get under his defense and gash the side of his exposed chest, he jumps back and assumes a defensive stance. Smiling under my helmet, I let loose a bit with my power, to him I would've vanished and reappeared behind him, I slash his back, he roars in pain, and whips around his swords striking my left side. Un-phased by his strike, I quickly reaffirm my stance, and raise my shield, my opponent roars has he lunges at me.

He's obviously angry, his attacks are reckless and his defense is falling apart, I land a couple of quick strikes under his guard before sidestepping and allowing him to fly to the ground. He stands then pulls something from a pouch on his belt, my eyes widen as he pulls it out, it looks black, but glows red, an evil aura surrounds it. What he is holding is a demon stone, they were used by Corbinith marines in the war, I recognize it from the confiscated good we took off POWs. I attempt to knock it out of his hand, but not before he crushes it and allows the unholy energy to take hold of him. His body contorts as the mutations begin, he happens quicker then I expect, and he knocks me back with his sword.

"You fool!" I yell at him, as he stands and prepares to fight me.  
"That voice…" The man says, his voice that of a demon, "Oryxace of the Archers…"  
"How do you know who I am?" I yell assuming a defensive stance.  
"Do you really not recognize me?" The man says as he prepares to remove his helmet.

When he removes it, my heart skips a beat, standing before me is Claw Harbringer, a man who 200 years prior, was a member of my final clan.

"You're supposed to be dead!" I scream, feeling the sorrow of my past rising.  
"You killed Sleek, I searched for many years to find a way to fight you, and finally I found it in the wilderness, stones of the devil." He says, reach into the same pouch and producing several of the unholy stones.

The crowd begins chanting 'fight, fight, fight', I look around, the arena seems to be filled with bloodlust, I feel my hands shaking.

"Scared?" Claw asks, approaching me.  
"Not even in the slightest." I reply, raising my sword.  
"You should be." Claw says,

His next movement I do not see but I feel his strike, and the blood from the wound, I collapse to the ground. I feel tear welling up in my eyes, Claw and I had once been the best of friends, but all that had been destroyed when I was forced to kill a fellow clan mate corrupted by a greater demon. The clan mate had been Sleek, he was a skilled all around fighter, with experience in all types of combat, he was a valuable member of the Archers. Claw was also good friends with him, when I killed him, claw couldn't see Sleek, all he saw was my blood soaked armour. When he got to us, Sleek's body had returned to normal, the demon no longer had a body to possess so it returned to hell, as s result Claw only saw Sleek's dead body, freed of the corruption.

Because of this he swore revenge on me.

"Those stones should've killed you a long time ago." I say, trying to stand, Claw strikes my back causing me to sink back to the ground.  
"Should've, instead they've made me immortal." Claw says, grabbing my neck and lifting me off the ground.  
"And this is what you're using it for?" I say, not struggling against his grip.  
"I've been using it to search for you, I fight here today because my current employer needed a distraction, the lord of Al-Kharid quite enjoys a good fight, his daughter on the other hand–"  
"You're working with those bandits?" I say, awareness jolting back into my body.  
"I'm surprised you know of them, I'd heard you've been out of it for a while."  
"Not anymore." I say, slicing his arm clean in half.

He screams as I land my feet back on the ground, he drops his sword and tries to stop the bleeding, his blood has a murky black quality to it. Just at that moment I hear a scream, I immediately distinguish it from the crowd, because it belongs to A'ata. I use the eye of Saradomin to locate her, before I can do anything else, Claw slams his fist into my helmet sending me flying into the side of the arena. I use the opportunity to teleport to A'ata, I arrive only to become stuck with several swords, then a spear, blood drips from the wounds. I try to move but then I realize, the weapons are enchanted, they're designed to immobilize holy creatures, because of my eye I fall under that category.

"Feeling a bit skewered?" A voice says from behind me, unable to turn I struggle against the weapons between the gaps in my armour.  
"Why are you doing this?" I manage.  
"Because a women cannot lead Al-Kharid." The man answers tapping on my helmet.

As he comes into my field of vision, he looks slightly like Aadil, minus the mustache, and plus a few vicious looking scars, he's dressed in the robes of the royal family of Al-Kharid.

"Who… are… you…" I say, beginning to lose consciousness.  
"I do not have to tell you, you are after all my prisoner now." The man says, removing my helmet, "The legendary Oryxace, wielder of the eye of Saradomin, and the man who ended the third age by completely destroying Gielinor, and now, you are my prisoner."  
"You're… going… to… pay… for… this…" I manage as the world fades to black.

When I regain consciousness, my hands and feet are pulled tight by chains in opposing directions, my body is strung up like an 'X'. There are large knifes through my major muscle groups, and a metal band has been welded over my right eye. Looking around with my good eye, I appear to be far underground, in a cell looking out on a large chamber, I couldn't see much beyond my cell, but based on the echoes the cavern was huge.

"Well." A voice says from the cell next to mine, "This is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into now isn't it Ory?"  
"They went after you too Doom?" I say, trying to think of a way out.  
"They tried to amputate my arm." He replies, "When they couldn't, they stuck so many knifes into it, any ordinary person would've died from the pain."  
"They welded a piece of metal over my eye."  
"Damn you got lucky." Doom says sarcastically.  
"Come on, we need to figure a way out of here."  
"We can't even move, much less escape, we'll be lucky if they let us eat, since we don't need to." Doom responds.  
"We can't lose hope, we need to get out of here."  
"Oh you still have hope do you?" A voice says approaching our cells.  
"Yes, yes I do, and you can't take it from me Altair." I reply, glaring at the figure standing in front of my cell.  
"Oh? You figured out my name, I suppose I should expect nothing less from the destroyer." Altair replies.  
"Let us go, and our friends won't have to hurt you."  
"What friends, any capable warriors you once had under your command died long ago." Altair says unlocking my cell's door, "And if by some miracle they are still alive, they sure as hell, would not be in suitable health to rescue you."

Altair approaches me, then slaps me across the face.

"I can do anything I want to you, and you can't do a damn thing about it, those daggers neutralize your powers." Altair says, his smile more malicious than a Hyena going in for the kill.

He pulls a knife out of his robe, then gouges out my other eye, my eye instantly heals, but the pain makes me grit my teeth.

"You see, I can hurt you all I want."  
"Perhaps you should rethink your plan." A voice says form behind Altair.  
"Oh? And who are you?" Altair says, turning around while licking his knife.

Standing at the entrance of the cell is Aadil, his body bruised and bloody.

"Brother! How wonderful you are here, come let us cause this man pain for interfering in the affairs of our country!" Altair says gesturing at me with his knife.  
"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Aadil yells, "I knew I should've had you imprisoned when I had the chance!"  
"Oh come on brother, don't you think that if I was going to threaten your power, I would've already killed you?" Altair says, his contorting into a disturbing visage, a high pitch chuckle escaping his lips.  
"It is not me who is threatened by you, it is my daughter, A'ata!" Aadil screams.

Altair's face twists into a look of absolute disgust.

"That little bitch has no claim to the throne!" He yells, pointing his knife at Aadil, "Only a man pure as the desert may lead the empire of Al-Kharid!"  
"You're outdated believes disgust me Altair." Aadil says leveling his scimitar.  
"Try me brother, but that little Asgarnian love child will never have a rightful claim to the throne!" Altair yells as he thrusts himself toward Aadil.

Aadil tries to counter, but Altair moves around his scimitar, and digs his knife into Aadil's chest the air is forced from Aadil's lungs. His body tenses, Altair twists the knife in the wound laughing like a lunatic, then he pushes Aadil to the ground, leaving the knife in his chest. He walks out of the cell, leaving the quivering body of his brother on the ground, he locks the cell door.

"I'll let him rot a little while before I remove his corpse!" Altair yells, his voice sending chills down my spine, as he walks away.  
"Or… Oryx… please save… A'ata…" Aadil manages as he body goes limp.

I feel my muscles go tense, anger swells inside of me.

"Oryx?" Doom says, "Oryx, do you want to get out of here?"  
"I have to, Doom, I must rescue A'ata."  
"Might I suggest a home teleport?" Doom says.  
"I can't make the grounding circle right now." I reply.  
"You don't need to, that's are just a safety precaution, you can use the teleport without it, but its risky."  
"Thanks Doom." I say, begin to recite the words of the home teleport.  
"Tell me if it works." He says, as magical energies begin to envelope me.

The teleport activates, the world becomes fluid, unfortunately the knifes stuck into my come too, I feel my body become weightless. The world becomes the Teleportation rift, something most people pass through too quickly to notice. I direct the teleport to home, or more specifically, my first home, as the teleport will most reliably deliver me there. I feel my body move through the rift, the knives are ripped from my body because of the energy in the rift, the pain makes me lose focus, the teleport destabilizes, then completely breaks down. I wake up in the desert, sand has my body half buried, a single knife is still stuck in my arm, I manage to pry it lose, then using it, I rip the metal preventing my eye form fully activating.

Standing, I realize that I've been launched deep into the desert, the sun is harsh, sand flies around the air stinging my eyes. I use the eye of Saradomin to generate a general map of the area in my head, to my surprise I haven't travelled far from my previous location, more precisely I've been thrust upward, to the surface. I try to use my eye to teleport back into the cavern, but a flash of pain strikes the right side of my head, painfully, I close my eye. Almost immediately the pain subsides, _seems like the eye has reached its limit_, I think to myself, _at least I know where to go to get into the cavern_. I spend the next hour finding the entrance, by the time I reach, my body it sweating, and I'm genuinely feeling dehydrated, despite the eyes assistance to keep me going.

I enter the enormous cavern, only to hear the creepy laughter of Altair, I hasten my pace, inside the cavern seems to be the remains of an ancient city. I descend into it, at the bottom of the enormous cavern there's a pool of water, cells line the walls, catwalks made of 'rusted' rune connect them.

"What is this place?" I says aloud without realizing it.  
"The ruins of an ancient prison." A voice says from behind, I recognize it has A'ata's.  
"A'ata!" I half yell whirling around to see her in a cell, deep gashes covering her body.  
"Oryx… get me out of here." She says, her face is covered in grime, her eyes are red from crying.  
"I will." I say, blowing the lock off the cell door with my eye.

Just as I enter to help A'ata, a scimitar protrudes from my stomach.

"Stomach wounds are the worst." Altair says putting his face right up next to mine.  
"I will not fall to you again!" I yell as I elbow him in the stomach, and whirl around, slashing him with the point of his scimitar still stuck in my body.  
"A'ata." I say through gritted teeth, "Pull the scimitar out of my back."  
"But that will kill you!" She says.  
"No. It. Won't."

Reluctantly she pulls it out of my back.

"Use that scimitar to defend yourself." I say as I move over Altair.  
"You wouldn't kill an unarmed man would you?!" Altair screams as I tower over him, a look of anger across my face.  
"Your right I wouldn't, however, I'm not against leaving them hanging." I say picking up Altair by the neck.  
"DON't KILL HIM!" A'ata screams from behind me.

Surprised by her statement, I don't notice Altair pull a knife from his boot and dig it into my right eye, the eye of Saradomin. As soon as the knife touches my eye, an explosion of energy erupts from it, the world fades away, and me and Altair become enclosed in a dimension of blue. He drops to his feet, and backs away from me with his knife pointed at me, blood drips down my face, Altair smiles his face something out of a nightmare.

"Do you really want to do this?" I ask him.  
"Death is the only option!" He yells, foaming at the mouth.  
"Very well." I reply.

In the next instant, I use the long knife that went with me through the teleport to cut his body in two, his face doesn't lose its twisted smile. The world of blue, being a defensive mechanism of the eye fades back to reality, Altair's body goes flying into the pool at the bottom of the cavern. A'ata screams, and drops the scimitar I had handed her, I look down at the pool, now stained with the blood of Altair.

"I'm sorry, A'ata." I say finally after a long moment.  
"Why must so many people die?" A'ata says, tears rolling down her face.  
"Your kindness betrays you." I answer, turning around to face her.  
"Kindness is all I have that I am certain of. " She replies, tears continuing to roll down her face.

In the next moment I so something absolutely insane, I kiss her, she struggles, then embraces it, we separate a moment later.

"That night when I came to your room, you called me a Kidemonas, why?" I ask her.  
"There is a legend within my family, about a warrior in sparkling blue armour, who watches over all, as a guardian, as a _Kidemonas_, the legend comes from my Asgarnian mother, she says it was passed down through her family since the days of the Reapers." She answers.  
"The Reapers…" I say surprised to hear the name, "Do you want to know more about that legend?"  
"Y-yes…"  
"Two hundred and thirty six years ago, I joined an ancient clan called the Reapers, they were a remnant clan from the time of the god wars trying to reform in the new age. I joined because I wanted to do good by the people of Gielinor after everything I had done in the years prior, I swore that I would never allow my comrades to come to harm. After a few years of serving them, I earned the nickname _'Kidemonas'_ which means guardian in ancient Asgarnian. I earned this name because I put myself between harm's way and my allies, taking wounds that would kill any other warrior, I maintained this name until the Reapers dissolved, the legend stayed with the members who barely knew me. I haven't been called by that name in many years, and I do not deserve it." I say, looking A'ata in the eyes.  
"You have never stopped being a _Kidemonas_, you fought to protect me, and you did what had to be done to protect your comrades."  
"But you were hurt, you came to harm." I say, tears welling up in my eyes, "And I still killed Altair even after you told me not to."  
"I can forgive you for what you have done." She says, embracing me, "You have fought for too long, stop and be at peace."

I don't know what possesses me at that moment, but I break down in tears embracing her, as I cry, the eye of Saradomin deactivates, I slump over unconscious, a smile on my face.

"So let me get this straight," Elora says holding up her right hand, "She told you not to kill her psycho uncle?"  
"Yes, unfortunately he activated the failsafe defensive mechanism on the eye of Saradomin, after which I was forced to kill him in order to deactivate the failsafe." I answer.  
"Then you deactivated the eye?"  
"The eye deactivated on its own, it was the first time, and only time I ever encountered a limit with it."  
"Interesting, so what happened afterward? Did you get married? Have a family?" Elora asks.  
"Yes, after my body recovered back to full without the eye's help, I was quite happy for a while, but eventually A'ata died of old age, and so did our children, while I lived on. Eventually the wind called me back to the west, and I left in the night, the legends of my existence persist in Al-Kharid to this day." I answer.  
"Why didn't you just pull the eye out like you did now?"  
"Because something told me it was not time, I had a feeling it would be needed in the future, but don't get me wrong I thought about it many times." I reply, "So you're not even angry that I raised a family with another women?"  
"Saradomin explained a lot of things to me when he brought to this time, most prominently the fact that you moved on, but never forgot, he told me that you had another lover, he told me you raised other kids, at first I was angry, but you're not the unfaithful type, for all you knew I was dead, and had never known you in the first place." She says, getting a serious look on her face, "Besides it kinda interesting knowing I had half children in the Al-Kharidian royal family."  
"I'm glad you're not going to kill me over this." I say, smiling.  
"Oh don't get me wrong, I'm about to strangle you, but in the long run all is forgiven."

Not knowing what else to say, I just smiled.

THE END


End file.
